Admissions

Financial Support

The Department of Physics provides teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and fellowships with about 38 full-time students being appointed each year. The salary stipends for the Fall 2009 semester are $1,575-$2,200/month plus full tuition waiver. Students can receive 12 months of support.

Most students are initially teaching assistants until they decide which research area they will pursue for their thesis. Some NIU students are also supported directly by Argonne and Fermilab; this usually occurs for more advanced students.

The department offers a number of fellowships including the NIU Nanotechnology Fellowship and the Joint NIU/ANL Distinguished Graduate Fellowship for students in nanoscience or materials science. The application form for these nanoscience fellowships can be submitted to the department.

Graduate students are encouraged to attend conferences and report on their research. This is funded through the Albright Travel Awards which are made yearly by the department.

Information on other avenues of support such as loans are found on the Graduate School web pages. Many of these require admittance into physics and are not available to students-at-large.